Queen Elizabeth II has produced 3,000 bottles of sparkling wine from her Windsor Great Park estate.
The 90-year-old royal has reportedly joined the recent sparkling wine craze which sees the UK ship out to a reported 27 countries and boasts annual sales of around £100 million, according to the Daily Telegraph newspaper.
The Queen – who has her own vineyard on the Windsor Great Park estate – had 16,700 chardonnay, pinot noir, and pinot meunier vines planted across a seven-acre patch in 2011.
In 2013, the grapes were picked before undergoing a fermenting and blending process and spending two years ageing in cellars.
The finished product was available to purchase three months ago from online wine retailers Laithwaite’s – who charged £75 for a three-bottle gift set – but was soon completely sold out.
According to the Daily Telegraph, a second batch of the wine – which is labelled as having 12 percent alcohol by volume (ABV) – is expected to hit shelves at £35 a bottle later this year, with production estimated to increase to 20,000 bottles a year within the next seven years.
Tamara Roberts, chief executive of the Ridgeview estate in Ditchling, East Sussex – where the grapes are turned into wine – described the product as "delicious".
She added to the publication: "As the vineyard matures, the wines will get better and better."
And it isn’t just Queen Elizabeth who has taken an interest in the wine making industry, as her 95-year-old husband Prince Philip has reportedly kept a "close eye" on the vineyard’s progress through his role as head ranger of the Great Park.
Meanwhile, Julia Trustram Eve of the English Wine Producers trade body said of the wine: "It is fantastic to see another home-grown success.
"I have not been fortunate enough to taste any myself, but I have dropped a monumental hint with the maker that I would very much like to do so."
Queen Elizabeth producing sparkling wine
